Utterly Deplorable

If the 2017 Champions Trophy were to have had another two games, Pakistan might be scoring 750 and bowling teams out for negative 12 by the end of it. Even for a side that is routinely unpredictable, even for a team with a long history of starting slowly then making a white-hot charge through a tournament, what Pakistan have pulled off at the 2017 Champions Trophy is some diamond-studded, galactic-scale nonsense.

They have not just defied logic, they have spat in logic's face, questioned the moral inclinations of its parents, kicked it in the shins, kneed it in the groin, strangled it unconscious, then shoved it into the mud and set its trousers on fire.

It's ironic that Pakistan lost to India on June 4th because that crushing defeat resulted in the debut of a most impressive opening batsman: Fakhar Zaman. Plus, the bowling brought its A+ game as well.

It was also impossible, at times, to believe that India were the side playing their fourth major final in six years. The first mistake - the error that bust open the flood gates - was Jasprit Bumrah overstepping in the fourth over to reprieve Fakhar, who had edged the ball to the keeper on three.

That wasn't the first mistake. Kohli, the Indian captain, made the very first mistake. He put Pakistan in to bat after winning the toss. Pakistan suck at chasing targets. Their batsmen melt under pressure. Kohli knows this since he experienced it on June 4th!

Anyway, I thought that Pakistan could restrict India to 200-250 runs. Instead, India got crushed. The entire team was out for 158 -- not even half of what Pakistan scored. The talent is definitely there. Let's see how they perform in the coming years.